Expand Your Horizons: Around the World in 2 Weeks
by Psychicbyinternet
Summary: Prompted by the proposal of an Atlantean teen, Milo, Audrey, Vinny, Sweet, Mole, Packard and two other Atlantean teens embark on an ambitious trip to all the great landmarks of the world.  Will dangers along the way make the trip longer than expected?
1. The Proposal

**I**

Milo felt the sun warm his face as he sat on his throne in the Atlantean throne room. Kida had decided to keep him company today.

It was a perfect day. The two of them were going to have a beautiful lunch together, continue an enriching day of reigning over Atlantis, fixing its few problems, and then they'd go for a swim and have a romantic dinner, maybe something else after that… Milo smirked at the thought. His daydreaming was interrupted by one of the servants, who announced that a young man wanted an audience with them.

"Of course. Oh, how interesting," Kida gushed.

A boy was led in. He was probably sixteen years old (in human years). His hair was white, slick and spiky. He was fairly tall and slim with a muscular physique and the typical tanned skin. His chocolate brown eyes seemed to penetrate Milo, like they could read his mind, see through his clothes. He bowed, something he knew all too well from school.

"Your majesties!"

Milo liked teenagers (they could understand his lectures a little better than children), but it seemed strange that one would miss school and try to talk to him. Maybe this was especially important.

"What's your name?" Kida asked.

"Amanotep, but that doesn't matter. What I want to tell you is that I hate my city. School is boring. There is very little to do for fun. Life is so pointless here. Many of the other teenagers agree. You two are ruling really well, there's nothing wrong with your leadership. I feel safe. But I have heard of another world. You talked about it in some of your lessons, sir. I feel limited just knowing the world around me. I bet there's so much more out there. I wish I could be part of that world. You're the only one who has been there. Why hasn't anyone else been there?"

The teen was so businesslike and professional. He spoke like an adult.

"You know why," Kida said sharply, "It is difficult to reach the outside world from here, not to mention extremely dangerous! I so miss the days when I could breathe fresh air and don't think I don't long to see what the other world is like, but it's just too dangerous. Who knows how people would react to an Atlantean? Milo…"

He sighed, "I miss it myself. But it's a lot safer here. I don't think I've ever been in real danger since I've been king. This place truly is paradise."

"Yeah, well paradise is boring." Milo and Kida looked completely hurt.

Amanotep continued, "Are you saying that even when I'm 100, 200, 300, I won't be able to explore outside of Atlantis? Do you know how slowly those years will go by as I do the same thing over and over? I feel like my existence is pointless!"

"Don't say things like that! Everything here has a purpose," Milo said.

"Is there any way you'll consider it? Just a few days for me and a few other teenagers."

"Out of the question," Kida did not hesitate.

Milo suddenly remembered something grandpa Thatch had said, "You never understand a person until you consider things from their point of view."

"Well said," Milo mumbled, smiling.

He looked at Amanotep and tried to imagine a childhood living just in one city, never to go anywhere else, even just for a visit. He thought about how much he longed to see Atlantis as a kid. He'd travelled to many places as a child and an adult, yet he always longed to see Atlantis so badly.

Kida and Amanotep's arguments had deteriorated to "Yes" and "No," back and forth.

"Kida. It's not as difficult and dangerous as it seems," Milo said.

"You're defending him now?" she glared.

"Well… you know what? Yeah! I could actually take him! I know the places we could go…"

Milo lept up from his throne and pulled a map of the world out of his pocket, "Paris, Egypt, the Sahara Desert, Rome, Greece, Singapore, Australia, oh so many delicious archeological wonders of the world!"

He looked like a little kid at Christmas. Kida rolled her eyes.

"Milo, I do trust your decisions. But are you sure they'll be safe? You know you won't have the power of the crystal!"

"It'll be difficult. But I didn't need it before, did I?"

"When you were the laughing stock of the excavation team?" she chuckled as Milo blushed, "I suppose I shouldn't have brought that up. Okay, Milo. I will let you go as long as the trip is only ten days and only four people are going, excluding your expedition friends…"

Amanotep's eyes lit up as he grinned. He hugged Kida and Milo, who was still not used to hugs from strong men. Milo winced, pinned by the young man's hug, until Amanotep released his hold.

"Sorry about that, Milo. I'm just so happy! Thank you so much! Now who should I pick?"

**II**

Their stomachs were full as Milo and Kida finished their seafood supper.

"Even though you are still getting accustomed to Atlantean culture, you really have a gift for Atlantean cooking, Milo."

"Thanks!"

They moved to their plush bedroom. It had blue curtains and bedding with Atlantean patterns. There were a few beautiful antique rugs and statues and some chairs and a sofa near their king-sized bed. Kida had lit several candles. There were two glasses on a table by the bed filled with an Atlantean alcoholic drink quite similar to champagne, only it was blue and much bubblier. Kida went to her bathroom suite to take a shower and "freshen up." Milo followed suit by going to his own bathroom suite. Each suite had a large bathtub and stand-up shower as well as a toilet, two sinks and an Atlantean invention called a "sunat" (which is just like the Swedish sauna). Kida finished her primping before Milo, so she pulled the gold blanket off of her legarpa, an instrument similar to the Western harp, except one plays it with one's feet and hands (like an organ). She plucked and pressed out a peaceful melody, hoping Milo would hear it. She started to play faster and more passionately, playing complex and beautiful arpeggios.

Then Milo came in and cut off her playing by planting a kiss on her lips. He was wearing a silk bathrobe and so was Kida.

"You play so beautifully. How did you learn?"

"My father gave it to me for my birthday and I just taught myself. It always puts me in a good mood even when things seem to be going all wrong."

She frowned and looked away.

"Are you still mad about that?"

"No, I'm just worried. I don't want anything to happen to you," she placed her hand on his chest, "But it is only ten days. As king, you are certainly entitled to a vacation. I get the next one, though."

Milo giggled, "Where would you go?"

"Hmmm… I'd like to go to your city and see the place where you lived before you met me. Maybe I could visit the countries of Mole and Vinny."

"Oh, you don't want to see the place where I lived. It isn't half as exciting as Atlantis. And it's full of bad memories."

Milo felt sad memories of rejection and loneliness stampede through his mind. Fruitless searching for opportunities, friends and female company… Milo remembered how often he had cried in that sad, grey life.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," his sadness started to fade, "but I know a certain service that could be useful in my forgetting of said memories. Would you be able to provide it tonight?"

Kida giggled and slipped out of her bathrobe, "Absolutely."

She helped Milo out of his bathrobe and then kissed him passionately. It would be a great night.


	2. Drinks at the Crystal Club

**III**

Milo and Amanotep walked into the only pub in Atlantis, "the Crystal Club." Amanotep was incessantly debating Atlantean culture and politics with Milo. Today's debate was why it was useful to learn about music and art in school. To Amanotep it seemed stupid and pointless, just a hobby to indulge in when one is bored. Milo argued that it was a form of communication, a way to express your ideas and feelings.

Amanotep sneered, "Why not just talking about it?"

Amanotep often took his debates with Milo too seriously, turning them into arguments or contests.

"The arts are weak, pathetic and useless! Face it, Milo, you've lost this debate!"

Milo didn't seem to mind though. To him the young man was a critical thinker, something Milo highly admired. He enjoyed debating with Amanotep. They took a table in the middle of the bar. A young man about Amanotep's age was their server. His white hair was slightly shaggy and medium length. He was slim with blue eyes and tanned skin. He looked more feminine than Amanotep.

"Hello, there. My name is Wally and I will be your bartender," then he noticed Milo, "Oh, your majesty! It is an honour!"

"Let's forget all those fancy names. I've been teaching you how long now?"

"Three years, I think."

They ordered some Atlantean beer and Wally started calling the king "Milo" instead. After Wally left to get them their drinks, Milo asked, "So, who are we meeting again?"

"Her name is Urika Nova."

"Right. I think I've taught her before."

"You need to remember names better."

"Yeah, I do. I feel terrible when I forget."

"Here you are, boys," Wally placed two drinks on the table. They toasted the trip.

"I wonder what's taking her?" said Amanotep.

The bar was semi-crowded that night. Wally led a teenage girl to their table.

"Hello, Yuri," Amanotep said, calmly, but loudly.

"Sorry I'm late. I was working on something and I completely lost track of time."

The girl sat down next to Amanotep and across from Milo. She was fairly short and she looked younger than Amanotep. The girl was pretty, with green eyes and her straight platinum blonde hair in a bob. Yuri was skinny and her lips were thin. The girl looked confused. She squinted at Milo from across the table, trying to find out who he was exactly.

"Hi, nice to see you again, Urika… Neva?" Milo tried to remember her last name, "I'm Milo."

Realizing who she was talking to, she jumped up and bowed, "I'm so sorry, your majesty! It's truly an honour!" She bowed again. Even though she was clearly overjoyed to meet King Milo in a bar with her classmate, it looked like she was nervous.

"Urika, you can call me Milo, and you guys really don't have to bow or anything like that. Sometimes I wish I wasn't king, just so I could avoid all these formalities."

"I'll do it for you if you don't want to," Amanotep joked.

Urika was blushing, "I can… c-call you Milo?"

Milo smiled, "Yup. By the way, did I get your name right?"

"Well, it's Nova, but that's alright."

Amanotep frowned, "Glad you two know each other. Now let's get down to business. About the trip…"

"So, who's the last person?" Milo asked.

"That's the problem. Everyone in school seems to want to go on this trip, so I decided to put all their names in a draw."

"Really? I had no idea so many people were interested in the surface world. I guess you were right, Aman!" Milo said.

Amanotep grunted in acknowledgement. He hated it when people called him Aman, and when they interrupted.

"Anyway, may I continue?"

Urika and Milo nodded.

"I've drawn five names already. And they're all annoying people that I hate."

"You don't hate me?" Urika asked.

"Not yet I don't."

She smiled, happy someone liked her. Most people excluded her and teased her for her bad vision.

"Okay, guys, you really have to stop interrupting. Put up your hand if you have a question. I need this meeting to be efficient."

Milo thought to himself, "He's so professional and powerful. He really knows how to run things. I wish I was more like that. I bet he'd be a great teacher."

"So, I don't think it would be ethical for me to draw any more names. Maybe one of you two could draw for me or, since so many Atlanteans annoy me, I could just pick one myself."

"Pardon me, sir," said Wally the waiter, "but anything for the lady tonight?"

Urika looked up at Wally, squinting, "Oh, hi, Wally!"

"Hi Yuri."

"How are you?"

"Good. How are you?"

"Great! I'm going on a trip to the surface world. I'm so excited!"

Wally looked at the table again.

"Oh, so that's why Milo is here. Where's your fourth person?"

They all looked at each other uneasily. Amanotep looked Wally over.

"Hey Wally. When do you get off?" he asked.

"Um, in an hour or so. Why?"

"How would you like to go on a trip?"

Wally was shocked. He had always been fascinated with the surface world. He had often asked his teachers about it. The only teacher who didn't ridicule him for his interest was Milo. And he would be the trip guide. It sounded like the perfect trip. And it was free!

"Are you serious?"

"No, we're just playing a trick on you. Of course we're serious!"

He went down on his knees and whispered, "Thank you" several times.

"Ok, that's enough. You should go back to work. Meet us here when you're done."

Wally nodded and headed straight to the men's room. No one was there. He went into the last stall, locked it and started jumping up and down and shrieking happily like a little girl. He did this for a few minutes and then got back to work.

"There. Problem solved," Amanotep said, looking through his papers casually.

"It looks like you made a good choice. Wally looked really happy," Milo said.

Suddenly Wally came back to the table, "Oh yes. Urika, would you like a drink?"

"Oh, um, I'll have a Kidagakash."

"Done," Wally walked away.

Milo looked at Urika, perplexed. "There's a drink named after my wife?"

"Clearly you've never been here. You've got your own drink, too."

"My God," he said. Milo could never have dreamed of that kind of stardom when he lived in America. He decided to focus on Amanotep again.

"So, now, who are you bringing, Milo?"

"Well, I wrote everyone on the old team and everyone can come except Cookie, who is catering some eating contests in the Dakota. Mother Crystal help those poor professional eaters.

"That's kind of a lot, though. Why did you invite all of them?" Amanotep said.

Milo looked at him with puppy dog eyes, "I didn't want anyone to feel left out. And they'll all be helpful. Audrey can help us with fixing machines and vehicles, Vinny can help our offensive if we get attacked by thugs, Packard will be our secretary and help us find travel arrangements, Sweet will be our travel doctor and Mole could be another guide, giving us the dirt on where we are."

"So we've got nine people now. That's not bad," said Yuri.

The meeting continued with Milo listing off all the great wonders of the world he could think of and Amanotep and Yuri voting on where they wanted to go. They decided they would try to go to as many items on the list as they could with the time they had.

The final list consisted of:

Pyramids of Egypt

Paris, France

Rome, Italy

The Grand Canyon

London, England

The Sahara Desert

New York, USA

Tokyo, Japan

Moscow, Russia

India (Agra and New Delhi)

Singapore

Eleven destinations. They couldn't possibly make it to all of them, but they would try to cover at least half.

Wally finished his shift and sat with them as they told him all about the trip and their chosen destinations.

Yuri looked at her watch, squinting again.

"Don't you have any glasses?" Milo asked her.

"What are those?"

He pointed to the pieces of glass decorating his face, "These things."

"Really," she looked at them carefully, "I had always wondered about the purpose of those tiny windows on your face. What are they for?"

Milo chuckled, took off his glasses and passed them to her, "Try them on."

She awkwardly tried to put them on properly. Immediately she could see everything so clearly, almost as if she was in a different realm. It was the way she saw the world in her dreams. Everything was so incredibly sharp and close. She could make out eyes, noses, mouths, even blemishes, the writing from far away! Her eyes lit up. To the others it looked as if she was on some kind of hallucinogenic drug. Milo smiled. This was probably the first time the girl had seen more than blurs since she was a child.

"I've never seen… this before…" she whispered and then began to swoon.

While Urika was passed out, Wally and Amanotep grabbed at the glasses, trying to see what was so great about them.

"It's just a big blur," Amanotep sneered, "that girl is insane."

Wally saw the same thing as Amanotep, "Or maybe she got drunk right before she came here…"

"You two don't understand. They help you with your vision if you have bad vision. Obviously you two both have good vision, but Urika and I don't."

Urika recovered suddenly, "I don't have bad vision. Please don't say that around them."

"Why? It's nothing to be ashamed of," Milo said.

"Never mind. So where do you get these devices?"

"In the surface world."

Yuri grinned. She was already excited. Now she wanted to leave right away.

"Oh, yes. I nearly forgot. I invented something especially for this trip," Urika pulled a green crystal pendant out of her pocket. It looked like a green version of the crystals all Atlanteans wore around their necks, except it had many small buttons on it.

"What does it do?" Wally was curious.

She pulled another green crystal out of her pocket and gave it to Wally. She looked at her own green crystal and talked into it, "Crystal Two."

It made a whooshing sound. Then she talked into it again, "Hi Wally. Try talking back to me."

They heard Urika's voice come out of Wally's crystal. Everyone gasped.

"Hi Yuri," Wally spoke gingerly into the gadget.

They heard his voice in Urika's crystal.

"And you can use this when you're continents away from each other. Even to contact Atlantis from the surface world. I call it… the Crystal-phone! Is that a good name?"

Everyone nodded meekly. They were all stunned. This would be invaluable. Milo had not seen anything like this before. Well, in the surface world, there were telephones, but they weren't nearly this portable. These could fit in your pocket! And telephones that could reach Atlantis at that! It almost seemed like magic. It would definitely be a useful invention in the surface world.

Breaking the silence, Urika continued, "I made one for each one of you. I'll make more for Kida and Milo's friends. I also added this for fun…"

She pressed a button on the side of the crystal and it started to play traditional Atlantean music. She clicked another button and the device played a different song.

"To remind us of Atlantis when we're homesick."

Once again they were all stunned. Her inventions were amazing, and extremely useful. This girl was so precocious she could probably compete with the greatest inventors in the surface world. That music device was definitely not invented in the surface world yet.

Milo wondered if he could put some swing or ragtime on it, but figured it was best not to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Suddenly he had an epiphany, "Eureka!"

"Yes?" the girl answered.

"Oh, sorry, it's kind of a surface expression. I just realized that with these devices, our trip would be much safer and more efficient. Maybe Kida would let us stay a few more days!"

"Yes, that is true," Aman said, "ask her tomorrow."

After a short tutorial on their crystal-phones from Urika, they all went home. It was a great meeting. They would leave in five days.


	3. All Aboard!

**IV**

Five days later…

Each Atlantean on the trip carried their own bag of possessions to the two submarines. They were the old submarines from Rourke's expedition – fairly decent submarines in the end. They loaded their bags into the submarines and then started to load provisions, sleeping bags, pillows and mats. A large crowd of Atlanteans had come to see them off.

"Two weeks exploring the wonders of the world! I think we should go to the Pyramids of Egypt first. Did you know that the first pharaoh in Egypt's pyramid is covered in hieroglyphics that have hints of Mesopotamian and Greek script which actually…."

Milo excitedly lectured Aman, who was trying to give Milo obvious signs that he was not interested and that he was busy getting ready for the trip. Milo was bubbling with excitement. Kida had allowed them to go for two weeks.

"…and that's how the Grand Canyon came to be! Oh, I can't wait!"

"I always feel like I'm forgetting something. I've got my clothes, my brush, my guitar, my flute, my surface world money, my Crystal-phone, my alcohol…"

Wally looked into his bag, shuffling through his things.

Milo gaped, "you're bringing….?!"

"Yeah, I know. But I'll play them both. I can't just abandon my flute like that," he kept racking his brain, "still feel like I'm forgetting something. I hate the feeling."

"Hello, friends!" Urika waved at Milo, Aman and Wally as she walked toward them, praying they were who she thought they were from that distance.

"Hi Urika!" they said.

Suddenly Milo heard his phone making a strange whooshing sound, the "ringtone," incidentally. He awkwardly picked it up and talked into it, "Hello?"

A familiar voice spoke, "I have some questions for you, whoever you are, and I will not hang up until they are answered."

Kida jumped out from the submarine behind Milo and pushed him playfully.

"Eeek!" he looked behind him and then smiled, "Oh, it's you. Come to say goodbye?"

"Of course!"

They shared a long, loving kiss and embrace. Wally, Urika and Amanotep's parents and siblings said goodbye to them, hugging and kissing as well. It was a bittersweet moment.

"Oh, don't worry too much, everyone! It's only two weeks. What could happen?"

They all laughed. And then they boarded their submarines, Milo with Wally, Urika with Aman. Milo and Urika were the drivers.

**V**

Wally and Milo watched Atlantis slowly disappear through the window of their submarine pod.

"Thanks again for making this trip happen, Milo. I'm so excited to see the surface world. A little scared, too," Wally laughed.

"Oh, don't mention it. I'm just as excited."

They were silent for a few minutes.

"My crystal!" Wally cried.

"What about it?"

"That's what I forgot!"

"Oh, don't worry. You really don't need it in the surface world. If you get hurt, Sweet will fix you up, especially if it's your neck."

"Oh, alright."

**VI**

Urika squinted at the controls, trying to maneuver through the tunnels separating Atlantis from the rest of the ocean.

"Where do you want to go the most, Aman?"

"Probably New York. It's supposed to be the biggest city in the world or one of the biggest cities. There must be so many powerful people there. So much to see, too. How about you?"

"Oh, well, I don't know. It's so hard to choose. Maybe Tokyo. I've heard good things about it."

"It's enormous, too. Two huge cities. They'll be so different from little Atlantis."

"Yeah. I wonder if I'll faint again," she laughed.

"So… what's your favourite dessert?"

"Huh? Oh, Garashuk."

"I like Lampila. What's your favourite colour?"

And for the next two hours or so, Aman was bombarded with meaningless questions, like "What's your favourite fruit?' and "What is your favourite subject?" When Urika ran out of material, she started asking him about hypothetical situations, like what he would do if he was flying a ketak and it took him beyond the city or whether he would rather be friends with so-and-so or so-and-so. Urika simply didn't have a lot of experience talking to people casually, as friends, so she fell back on "surface questions." She didn't want to get too personal. At least not about serious things. Eventually, Amanotep told her that he was tired and he was going to nap in the back.

"What in God's name was that?" he muttered to himself before going to sleep.


End file.
